Secondhand £300 laptop for light video editing / OR is my current laptop sufficient?

Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2002
Posts
4,260
Location
London
Hi All,

I have currently got this:
- Dell E6420
- Intel Core i7 2640m 2.7GHz Processor
- 4GB DDR3 Memory
- 250GB Hard Drive

I'm not sure if it just needs a fresh install of everything, or if it is simply not up to the task?

I was trying to edit GoPro footage and it was just really laggy. Is hardware up to the task, and the 4yr old Windows install and all the other rubbish on there ruining performance?

Or, do I need a new(er) laptop for editing GoPro footage?

If a new laptop, my budget is £300, but I wouldn't mind spending less.
Happy with secondhand
Just needs to be able to edit GoPro footage with minimal lag.

Thanks
R
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Jan 2016
Posts
3,727
Location
Derbyshire
its an old laptop, but what software are you using to edit with?

maybe try upgrading the ram as it supports 8gb max and getting an ssd or least just the ram if you got enough storage left and just see if that does anything? would cost you like up to £50 if you did both mainly due to the cost of ssd.

otherwise you will have better luck on the used market if you want to stay with an i7, even ones of similar age, but with dedicated nvidia graphics will be more beneficial
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2008
Posts
11,616
Location
Finland
4GB of memory is certainly little for video editing even in Windows 7.
And double so if it has Wintoys 10... with its automatic "updating" to broken drivers/patches.
With some lighter Linux there would be lot better amount of memory left free for software to use.

In CPU power that Sandy Bridge should certainly be quite close usual U-serie dual cores in many second hand laptops.
So for meaningfull upgrade in that you should look for getting quad core, or then lot lot newer serie CPU.
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Nov 2011
Posts
5,356
Location
Derbyshire
8GB of RAM and an SSD would be a starting point. If it's anything more than shoving a few short videos together then I'd say build a "real" computer if it's something you plan on doing for more than hobbyist work.
 
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